You Have to Read Evan Rachel Wood’s Powerful Letter About Her Own Rape

A little over a week ago, Evan Rachel Wood wrote to Rolling Stone magazine to tell them she had been raped. Now she’s coming forward to tell her full story in her own words.

Wood posted her letter in full on Twitter, explaining that since everything was “out in the open,” she may as well share her entire confession.

She tells her fans that she has been raped twice. The first time was done by a significant other, and she admits that she was unsure if it was in fact rape if it had been done by a partner and only released it was rape too late. The second time was by the owner of a bar and while she knew it was sexual assault right of the bat, she used to believe that it was her fault for “not fighting back more.”

For a long time, the actress was hesitant to come forward. She explains,

“I think, like a lot of women, I had the urge to not make it a sob story, to not make it about me.”

She adds,

“I think deep down, I also didn’t want to be accused of doing it for attention, or told it wasn’t a big deal, or ‘That’s not really rape.’”

It’s terrible that Rachel felt afraid to come forward for so many reasons, but it’s also not uncommon. Many women fear public shame or judgement and keep quiet. But as Wood says, it’s time to stop sweeping it under the rug.

“I don’t believe we live in a time where people can stay silent any longer. I certainly can’t. Not given the state our world is in with its blatant bigotry and sexism.”

Wood also opened up to Rolling Stone about her attempted suicide and struggles coming to terms with her sexuality.

Lena Finkel is the Editor and Founder of Femestella. Prior to starting Femestella, she worked at People, InStyle, and Tiger Beat. Her favorite Housewife is Bethenny Frankel and when she’s not watching RHONY, you can probably find her obsessing over her tuxedo cat Tom or hoarding drugstore lipsticks.